A Week in The Canadian Rockies

Our last day of volunteering at Farragut State Park was Saturday, September 2, so we scheduled a week at a time-share condo in Panorama near Invermere, British Columbia, for the week of September 3rd. Panorama is located on the west side of the Canadian Rockies.

 

There are four Canadian National Parks in the Canadian Rockies UNESCO World Heritage Site. The four national parks included are Banff, Jasper, Yoho, and Kootenay. We also visited two additional Canadian National Parks, Mount Revelstoke and Glacier (not to be confused with the US Glacier National Park or the Canadian Waterton Lakes National Park, both of which we visited in July).

 

As an added bonus, since 2017 is the 150th anniversary of Canada's birth, all the national parks are free to the public.  

Our Home Base - Panorama Ski Resort

Two Bedroom and Two Bath Unit

Kootenay National Park

Day Trip to Kootenay NP
Stop at Numa Creek 

Bridge Along Paint Pots Hike

The iron-rich mineral springs stain the
surrounding earth red.

One of the three Paint Pots
emerald green pools.

Marble Canyon Trail

Water Cascades Through Narrow
Limestone Marble Canyon

Criss-cross the Narrow Gorge
along Marble Canyon Trail

Sighting of a Mother Moose and
Calf on our Drive "Home"

Yoho National Park

Natural Bridge

Kicking Horse River Cascades
Under the Natural Bridge

Hike to Takakkaw Falls
Takakkaw means "It is Magnificent"
in the Cree Language.

The 840 foot falls is
feed by a massive ice field.

Cave and Basin National

Historic Site in

Banff, Alberta

Visitor Center of Canada's
First National Park,
Born in 1885

Underground Cave and Hot Spring

Outdoor Hot Spring

Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

Banff National Park

We took this exceptional hike in 2003 while
camping here.

Rather than hiking along the rim of
the canyon, a catwalk leads through the
depths of Johnston Canyon.

Johnston Canyon Lower Falls are accessed
through a narrow rock tunnel at the
end of the trail.

Mount Revelstoke National Park

Giant Cedars Nature Trail through
the Cedar-Hemlock Forest

Nels Nelson Historic Ski Jump
at the Base of Mount Revelstoke  

In February 1916, Nels Nelsen broke the
world record by jumping 183 feet
on the Revelstoke ski jump.

We followed a paved road to the
historic fire lookout at the
summit of Mount Revelstoke.

Numerous forest fires burn
throughout drought ravaged
British Columbia.

Waterton Lakes National Park

Monday, July 31, we drove into Alberta, Canada, to tour Waterton Lakes National Park which is adjacent to the north boundary of Glacier National Park.

Waterton Lakes is 195 square miles.

Prince of Wales Hotel, Built in 1926 on
the Shore of Upper Waterton Lake

We enjoyed a delicious lunch of Shepherd's Pie
at the Hotel.
This traditional English dish is made with
ground beef and lamb, vegetables and
topped with whipped potatoes.

A Hike Along the Red Rock Canyon
at End of Red Rock Parkway

Cameron Lake at the end of Akamina Parkway

Bighorn Sheep along the Akamina Parkway

Boarding the "International", Built in 1927,
for a Shoreline Cruise of
Upper Waterton Lake

Sitting on the Top Deck for Outstanding Views

We stopped at Goats Haunt deep
in Glacier NP, Montana.
This is actually a port of entry, with customs agents,
and can only be reached by water or hike.

Our 40th Wedding Anniversary at Glacier National Park

We left Farragut Saturday afternoon, after completing our days work, to start the 200 mile drive to Glacier National Park. After spending the night in St. Regis, Montana, we arrived at Glacier on Sunday morning. This allowed us the day to drive the "Going to the Sun Road". The "Going to the Sun Road" is one of the world's most spectacular highways, bisecting the heart of Glacier National Park. This 50 mile long road follows the shores of the park's two largest lakes and hugs the cliffs below the Continental Divide as it traverses Logan Pass. There are many scenic turnouts and exhibits along the way. We had reservations for a cabin at the St. Mary's Lodge on the east side of the Park for Sunday and Monday night.

Glacier National Park is over a million acres.

 

The first stop was lunch at Sprague Creek,
near Lake McDonald.

Viewing the Vast Expanse of the
Glacier Carved Valley.

Spring Flowers at High Elevation
the End of July

The Ever Present Vintage 1930's
Open Air Red Tour Buses

 

One of the Tunnels Along the Route



Weeping Wall near Logan Pass

Contemplating Cresting the Logan Pass

Goose Island in Ten Mile Long
Saint Mary Lake

Home for the Next Two Nights

We Overlooked the Beautiful
East Side of the Park

The view of Swiftcurrent Lake from the
Many Glacier Lodge Restaurant where
we celebrated our 40 years together.

Inside the Many Glacier Lodge, Built in 1914

Beautiful View Driving West on
Tuesday Morning

McDonald Creek

Lake McDonald Lodge, Built in 1913

Lake McDonald

40 YEARS
July 30, 2017

Ride The Hiawatha

THE "CROWN JEWEL" OF RAIL-TO-TRAIL ADVENTURES

The Route of the Hiawatha mountain bike is 15 miles long with 9 train tunnels and 7 sky-high trestles. The ride starts by traveling through the 1.66 mile long St. Paul Pass Tunnel, also know as the Taft Tunnel.
It was called one of the most scenic stretches of railroad in the country. The trail is named after the passenger train "Olympian Hiawatha" which rode these rails. The name "Hiawatha" originated with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "Song of Hiawatha" written in the 1800's. The last passenger train, the Olympian Hiawatha, passed through the Bitterroots in 1961.

We rented comfort bikes and equipment
from the Lookout Pass Ski Area.

First the St. Paul Pass Tunnel,
8771 feet long.
We started on the Montana side.
It took about 20 minutes of pedaling in
45 degree, damp, complete darkness with our
headlights on to get to the Idaho side.

The highlight of the trail is that it follows
the crest of the Bitterroot Mountains.

Virginia studies the map to keep us on
course and on schedule.

The third tunnel (#22) is 1516 feet long.

Kurt pedals through
tunnel (#24), 377 feet long. 

Trestle over Kelly Creek, 230 feet high

It's a long way down! 

Trestle over Clear Creek, 220 feet high.
This was originally built of
steel instead of wood. 

Emerging from Tunnel (#28)



This really wasn't the end. Next, a shuttle took us over a winding one lane, forest road back to the Idaho side of the St. Paul Pass Tunnel. From there we mounted our bikes to pedal back through the 1.66 mile tunnel to our car, since most tunnels prohibited motorized vehicles.

This was a gorgeous bike ride, the best we ever rode.

A Cruise on Lake Pend Oreille

Tuesday we drove about 30 miles north to the tourist town of Sandpoint, Idaho. After looking around the quaint town we boarded the Shawnodese at City Beach for the Lake History Cruise. Farragut State Park is at the south end of this huge lake, with Sandpoint at the north end. The lake has 111 miles of shoreline with an average depth of 1200 feet, making it the third deepest lake in North America, behind Crater Lake and Lake Tahoe. Departing at 1:00 pm, the sun was shinning and the temperatures were in the low 80's.

Our seats were in the bow for a great view.

Much of the lakeshore is undeveloped.
We watched Bald Eagles and Ospreys on their perch.

The only way onto the bow was through a narrow
hatch from the galley below.

Majestic homes sit on the hillside.

Returning to the Marina and beach area.

Late lunch and a beautiful view at
Trinity Restaurant at City Beach in Sandpoint.